Directors retire rich while workers suffer
. | 04.03.2002 15:30
Hundreds of top company directors will receive pensions of at least £100,000 a year while workers are gripped by "pensions panic", according to a new report today.
More than 250 executives have already built up pension entitlements of more than £100,000 a year in final-salary arrangements, Labour Research magazine reported, and some would receive even higher sums by the time they retired.
More than 80 would receive more than £250,000 if they retired now, and 51 of these had already built up £300,000 in annual pension entitlement, the research organisation claimed.
Top of the table is Dr Jean-Pierre Garnier, 53, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline who was already looking forward to £833,000 a year when he retired, said the report. Directors at BP, Kingfisher, Unilever, Rentokil and Powergen will each receive annual pensions of over £500,000.
Fewer than half of all workers in the UK can look forward to the guaranteed benefits of a final salary pension scheme, Labour Research said, and the proportion of workers in such schemes is set to fall further as a result of the current "crisis".
Yet, despite the onus on workers to carry on their careers until later in life in order to provide an adequate income in retirement, people may not be fit enough to work into their 70s, according to a report by health giant BUPA, also released today.
Disease patterns and rising stress levels meant that many people would not be able to work later into life, says BUPA.
A survey of 2,000 employers and employees showed that most people were unhappy at the prospect of working until the age of 70. One in 10 of those aged under 34 said they expected to retire before they reached 55.
But pension shortfalls and fewer younger people would mean that many people would have to work into their mid-70s, said the report.
Workplace stress was identified as a "major hurdle" for the future, according to the research, which said that while employers were aware of the importance of minimising work-related stress, they were doing very little about it.
"Greater awareness of mental health issues must be a top priority for employers now if Britain's workforce is to have the motivation and ability to cope in the future," said Dr Vallance-Owen.
More than 250 executives have already built up pension entitlements of more than £100,000 a year in final-salary arrangements, Labour Research magazine reported, and some would receive even higher sums by the time they retired.
More than 80 would receive more than £250,000 if they retired now, and 51 of these had already built up £300,000 in annual pension entitlement, the research organisation claimed.
Top of the table is Dr Jean-Pierre Garnier, 53, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline who was already looking forward to £833,000 a year when he retired, said the report. Directors at BP, Kingfisher, Unilever, Rentokil and Powergen will each receive annual pensions of over £500,000.
Fewer than half of all workers in the UK can look forward to the guaranteed benefits of a final salary pension scheme, Labour Research said, and the proportion of workers in such schemes is set to fall further as a result of the current "crisis".
Yet, despite the onus on workers to carry on their careers until later in life in order to provide an adequate income in retirement, people may not be fit enough to work into their 70s, according to a report by health giant BUPA, also released today.
Disease patterns and rising stress levels meant that many people would not be able to work later into life, says BUPA.
A survey of 2,000 employers and employees showed that most people were unhappy at the prospect of working until the age of 70. One in 10 of those aged under 34 said they expected to retire before they reached 55.
But pension shortfalls and fewer younger people would mean that many people would have to work into their mid-70s, said the report.
Workplace stress was identified as a "major hurdle" for the future, according to the research, which said that while employers were aware of the importance of minimising work-related stress, they were doing very little about it.
"Greater awareness of mental health issues must be a top priority for employers now if Britain's workforce is to have the motivation and ability to cope in the future," said Dr Vallance-Owen.
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